1711) George Owen Wynne Apperley

George Owen Wynne Apperley (1884-1960). British painter, described as “one of the finest” of the late Romantic artists.

In 1917 he moved to Spain, abandoning his British wife, Hilda Pope, and family, and established in the district of Granada. He was forced to leave Spain in 1932, when his conservative political stance regarding the Second Spanish Republic led to the bombing of his house. He moved with his second family, his muse and later wife, Enriqueta Contreras and their two sons, to Tangier, Morocco.

Self-portrait (1915)

1710) Stanisław Wyspiański

Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (1869 – 1907). Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artistic premises of the Young Poland movement.

Wyspiański was one of the most outstanding and multifaceted artists in Poland under the foreign partitions, and combined modernism with traditional Polish folk and Romantic themes.

 Wyspiański's artistic output is very eclectic. Among dramas and poetry, there are views of Cracow (drawings, sketch-books, oil-paintings, pastel drawings), portraits and self-portraits, designs of stained glass windows and paintings, illustrations, graphic art, and designs for furniture and interiors.

1709) Józef Mehoffer

Józef Mehoffer (1869 – 1946). Polish painter and decorative artist, one of the leading artists of the Young Poland movement and one of the most revered Polish artists of his time.

Mehoffer studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, and later at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and in Paris, at the Académie Colarossi. There Mehoffer began painting portraits, often of people of historical significance. He later expanded his work to include different techniques, such as graphic art, stained glass, textiles, chalk drawings, etchings and book illustrations. He produced set designs for theatre, and stylized furniture designs.

Mehoffer received international acclaim for his stained glass windows in the Gothic St Nicholas Collegiate Church in Fribourg, Switzerland produced in 1895–1936. He also produced many stained glasses for several churches in Poland and Austria. Mehoffer explored various media further throughout his career to include a range of applied arts in his projects. He manufactured a multiplicity of book covers, ornaments and posters. Mehoffer – aside from his versatility in studio art – became known for his frescoes often reminiscent of medieval art. 

In September 1899, Mehoffer married Jadwiga Janakowska, whom he had met five years earlier in Paris. They had a son, Zbigniew (1900–1985). Janakowska was the artist's muse and frequently posed for his portrait paintings.

Portrait by Stanisław Wyspiański 

1708) Marie Thérèse Zakrzewska

Marie Thérèse Zakrzewska, also known as Ata or Ama (1880? - 1920). Polish artists' model and noblewoman.

She was born (probably in Krakòw) into an aristocratic family and had a younger sister, Natalia. They were both known for their beauty. 

Ata was the favourite sitter of the painter Teodor Axentowicz, who made her famous in all artistic circles of Poland.

In 1903 she married Italian politician Alessandro Tasca Filangeri, Principe di Cutò (1874 - 1943), who was called "il principe rosso" (the red prince) because of his socialist ideas. The couple had two children: Gioia and Alessandro. One of Filangeri's sisters, Beatrice, was the mother of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author of the novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). 

Ata Zakrzewska and her daughter Gioia

Wiosna (The Spring), by Teodor Axentowicz

Rudowłosa (The Redhead), by Teodor Axentowicz

Poster for the 2nd exhibition of the Society of Polish Artists "Sztuka"  

1707) Joseph Noel Paton

Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821 – 1901). Scottish artist, illustrator and sculptor. He was also a poet and had an interest in, and knowledge of, Scottish folklore and Celtic legends.

He was the brother of the sculptor Amelia Robertson Hill and the landscape artist Waller Hugh Paton.

Most of his life was spent in Scotland, but he studied briefly at the Royal Academy, London in 1843. While studying in London, Paton met John Everett Millais, who asked him to join the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The invitation was turned down by Paton, although he painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style and became a painter of historical, fairy, allegorical and religious subjects.

Paton became an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1847 and was made a Fellow in 1850. In 1865, he was appointed Queen's Limner for Scotland. He also published two volumes of poetry and produced a number of sculptures. Two years later he received a knighthood.

- "Paton had bright red hair and was known for his great physical strength."   https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/3454/sir-joseph-noel-paton-1821-1901-artist

- "He was, in fact, a man of great presence, with startlingly red bushy hair, and "almost Herculean in breadth of shoulder and depth of chest". https://victorianweb.org/sculpture/hill/2.html

1706) Chuck Norris

Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (1940 – 2026). American martial artist, actor, screenwriter, and author. He held black belts in karate, taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, he won numerous martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Norris began working in the American film industry as a martial arts instructor for celebrities before making his screen debut with a minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became a hit, and he soon became a popular action film star.

His mother was of Irish ancestry, while his father had German, British, and distant Cherokee roots.

- ""My hair was always this color," Norris says "reddish-brown, and when I did the Bruce Lee movie in '72, `Return of the Dragon,' I looked at my hair and I thought, `That's kind of a bland color. I think I'll dye it blond.' " https://www.roundhouseroulette.com/episodes/b11

- "Chuck Norris’s red hair is not the type where you call him ginger to make him feel upset."   https://ogrenjackson.medium.com/ginger-superstars-e11f23428ff7

1705) Ilka Gedő

 Ilka Gedő (1921 – 1985). Hungarian painter and graphic artist.

In the first stage of her career, which came to an end in 1949, she created a huge number of drawings (especially self-portraits), that can be divided into various series. From 1950 on, Gedő did not take part in art life. Her interests turned to the philosophy of art, art history and colour theory and translated extensive passages from Goethe's theory of colours. From 1964 on, she resumed her artistic activities creating oil paintings.

 In 1946, she married the biochemist Endre Bíró, from whom she had two sons.

- "Ilka told me that she inherited her red hair from a distant aunt."  https://hal.science/hal-03197602v1/file/gender_memory_and_judaism.pdf

- "The only thing I do regret, however, is a drawing made in red chalk depicting Ilka Gedő with her red hair that hung to her shoulder." https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/D%C3%A1vid_B%C3%ADr%C3%B3--Ilka_Ged%C5%91-The_Painter_and_Her_Work.pdf

Self-portrait

Self-portrait

1704) Uri Zvi Greenberg

Uri Zvi Greenberg (also spelled Uri Zvi Grinberg). Israeli poet, journalist and politician who wrote in Yiddish and Hebrew.

Widely regarded among the greatest poets in the country's history, he was awarded the Israel Prize in 1957 and the Bialik Prize in 1947, 1954 and 1977, all for his contributions to fine literature. Greenberg is considered the most significant representative of modernist Expressionism in Hebrew and Yiddish literature.

He was born in Galicia (modern-day Ukraine) and moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1924. He joined the Revisionist camp in 1930 and after 1948 joined Menachem Begin's Herut movement. Greenberg was elected to the first Knesset, but lost his seat in the two years later.After the Six-Day War, he joined the Movement for Greater Israel, which advocated Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Scholar Dan Tamir considers Greenberg's ideology among the most prominent historical examples of "Hebrew fascism."

- "His red hair is aflame. His green eyes spit fire. His thin body sways like a storm-tossed tree."   https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/pft.2009.29.1.31

Portrait by Reuven Rubin

Portrait by Siona Tagger

1703) Jadwiga of Poland

Jadwiga (1373 or 1374 – 1399), also known as Hedwig. First female monarch of the Kingdom of Poland, as well as its last hereditary ruler. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. Born in Buda, she was the youngest daughter of Louis I of Hungary and Poland and his wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia. 

In 1386 she married Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, who took the Catholic baptismal name Władysław, Jadwiga died due to postpartum complications and as her only daughter predeceased her, the Queen was the last hereditary monarch of Poland. With her death, the throne of Poland became elective. 

In 1997, she was canonized by the Catholic Church.

- "Jadwiga was said to have been tall and beautiful with red hair."   https://www.galwaycathedral.ie/news/saint-month-st-jadwiga#:~:text=Jadwiga%20was%20said%20to%20have,establish%20a%20department%20of%20Theology.

Effigy of Jadwiga on her seal

1702) Faustina Kowalska

Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament (born Helena Kowalska; 1905 – 1938). Polish Catholic religious sister and mystic. Faustyna, popularly spelled Faustina in English, had apparitions of Jesus Christ which inspired the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy, therefore she is sometimes called the "secretary" of Divine Mercy.

Throughout her life, Kowalska reported having visions of Jesus and conversations with him, which she noted in her diary, later published as The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul. 

At the age of 20 years, she joined a convent in Warsaw. She was later transferred to Płock and then to Vilnius. The Catholic Church canonized Kowalska as a saint on 30 April 2000. Her tomb is in the Divine Mercy Sanctuary, Kraków, where she spent the end of her life.

- "A red-haired, bouncing Polish baby girl named Helen certainly did when she was born 119 years ago today into the home of a poor, peasant family who had its priorities straight."   https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/happy-119th-birthday-st-faustina#:~:text=It%20helps%20to%20have%20a,who%20had%20its%20priorities%20straight.

- "I discovered a red-haired and freckled young woman who, before entering the convent, loved to dress fashionably!" https://www.radiantmagazine.com/2019/02/18/my-friend-st-faustina/ 

Helena Kowalska before entering the convent

Portrait painting of Faustina Kowalska

1701) Eugenio Monti

Eugenio Monti (1928 – 2003). Italian bobsledder and alpine skier. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the bobsleigh, with ten World championship medals (of which nine gold) and 6 Olympic medals including two golds. He is known also for his acts of sportsmanship during the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, which made him the first athlete ever to receive the Pierre de Coubertin World Trophy.

He was the first non-German to win a gold in both the two-man and four-man events in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. After his victory, he received Italy's highest civilian honor – the Commendatore of the Italian Republic and then retired to labor in his skiing facilities in Cortina.

Struck by numerous hardships (separation from his wife, the departure of his daughter for the United States, the death of his son from an overdose), suffering from Parkinson's disease, on 30 November 2003 he shot himself in the head; transported to the hospital in Belluno, he died the next day.

- "It was in skiing that he first competed at national level, where he earned the nickname “Rosso Volante”, originally coined by sports journalist Gianni Brera. A reference to the colour of his hair and his bold, aggressive style on the slopes..." https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/from-the-track-to-the-screen-the-life-of-eugenio-monti-in-the-new-television-series-rosso-volante

- "«Rosso» per il colore dei capelli, «volante» perché nessuno come lui sa sfrecciare sulla neve... [Redhead for the colour of his hair, "flying" because no one knows how to speed through the snow like him.]" https://vocidicortina.it/a5159-Rosso-Volante-La-leggenda-di-Eugenio-Monti-e-del-suo-incredibile-bob#:~:text=%C2%ABRosso%C2%BB%20per%20il%20colore%20dei%20capelli%2C%20%C2%ABvolante%C2%BB,la%20leggenda%20che%20ha%20dato%20il%20nome

- "Appena due anni dopo veniva notato dal giornalista Gianni Brera che gli affibbiò il soprannome "Rosso Volante" (allusione ai colori dei capelli e alla grinta con cui fu sempre conosciuto). [Just two years later he was noticed by the journalist Gianni Brera who gave him the nickname "Flying Redhead" (an allusion to the colour of his hair and the determination for which he was always known).]"   https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenio_Monti

1700) Pierre Puiseux

 Pierre Henri Puiseux (1855 – 1928). French astronomer.

He created a photographic atlas of the Moon based on 6000 photographs taken by him and Maurice Loewy. In 1892 he was awarded the Valz Prize, and in 1896 was he awarded the Lalande Prize, both from the French Academy of Sciences, which he would later become a member of in 1912.

In 1900, Puiseux received the Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France (the French astronomical society). He became the Society's president from 1911 to 1913.

The crater Puiseux on the Moon is named after him.

- "His physical appearance was strange: a brush of red hair, dishevelled around the large forehead of a thinker, blue eyes extraordinarily sharp and brilliant..." https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Puiseux/

1699) Joseph Patrick McDonnell

Joseph Patrick McDonnell (1846 – 1906). Irish-American labor leader and journalist. He edited the New York Labor Standard, and was one of the founders of the International Labor Union.

He was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a middle-class family, and after secondary school went to Trinity College Dublin. He moved to London in 1868, where he gave lectures calling for the release of Irish political prisoners and for Irish independence. 

In 1871 McDonnell met Karl Marx, who proposed him as a member of the general council of the International Workingmen's Association (IWMA - often called the First International). In August 1871 he was made IWMA secretary for Ireland. In 1872 McDonnell sailed to New York City with his new bride, Mary McEvatt, to represent the IWA in America. From 1873 to 1878 McDonnell was very active in the socialist movement in New York, speaking at many venues.

In 1879 McDonnell was among the founders of the New Jersey Labor Congress, later renamed the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the State of New Jersey. From 1883 until 1897 McDonnell chaired the legislative committee of the New Jersey Federation of Organized Trades, which remained a relatively small body that was further weakened by the dispute between the Knights of Labor and the craft unions. Despite its weakness, the legislative committee drafted laws and lobbied for their passage by the New Jersey legislature, and often achieved at least partial success. The thrust of the laws was to eliminate abuses of labor, improve working conditions and help labor organize unions, cooperatives and building and loan associations. The Federation obtained ballot reforms, protection against eviction, public libraries and a compulsory education law. It was mainly due to McDonnell's efforts that Labor Day was declared a holiday by New Jersey, to first state to do so.

- "He described McDonnell as having "clean-cut small features, wonderful eyes and an abundance of red curly hair."  https://nyirishhistory.us/article/courage-for-any-venture-j-d-mcdonnell-fenian-editor-and-labor-leader/

- "... he grew into a man of slight build with red curly hair and a somewhat oval face."   https://www.dib.ie/biography/mcdonnell-joseph-patrick-a5647